Backside Documentary Highlighting Backstretch Workers To Be Screened In Louisville

Speed Art Museum will screen Backside, a documentary highlighting the immigrant workforce behind the horse racing industry, at its Louisville cinema from September 25-28, 2025.

The observational documentary, filmed over five years by an all-LatinX team, offers an intimate look at the workers who care for prized racehorses in the barns behind Churchill Downs — an area known as the “backside.”

“Backside challenges audiences to see beyond the spectacle of the Derby,” said Dean Otto, Curator of Film at the Speed Art Museum. “It’s an invitation to witness the dignity, expertise, and resilience of a community that quietly sustains one of America’s most celebrated events.”

The documentary examines intersections of class, race, and labor while revealing the symbiotic relationship between humans and horses. It focuses on workers who begin their days before dawn, seven days a week, caring for some of the world’s most valuable thoroughbreds.

The museum is partnering with the Backside Learning Center, which supports the educational and personal growth of Churchill Downs’ backstretch community. Churchill Downs has also provided support for the project.

Sherry Stanley, executive director of the Backside Learning Center, emphasized the documentary’s importance: “This film shines a light on those who are truly the soul of an industry so central to the history, culture and economy of our state.”

Post-screening discussions will feature director Raul O. Paz-Pastrana, producers, and grooms who appear in the documentary. A Spanish-language screening with discussion in Spanish will also be offered.

This Louisville engagement marks one of the first screenings of Backside following its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sjz-60AxMM